In fading multipath transmission systems, such as those characterized by troposcatter communication links, for example, the transmitted signal is conveyed through the multipath medium along a plurality of decorrelated paths so that a plurality of signals, each representing the transmitted signal but having varying energy contents, are received. Fading effects in such communication systems are reduced when each of the several diversity channels conveying a given signal have decorrelated fading characteristics. Accordingly, a plurality of diversity receivers are used and one or more of the diversity receiver channel signals having the greatest signal strengths are selected as most probably carrying a reliably detectable message signal. In another diversity approach, a composite signal is generated from a combination of all of the received diversity channel signals. In the latter case the diversity channel signals may be appropriately weighted before they are combined. A suitable signal processing technique which has heretofore been utilized in providing appropriate signal weights has been based on a mean-square error criterion, particularly with the transmission of digital data, the weighting factors being utilized to equalize the multipath distortion in each diversity channel to substantially remove any intersymbol interference and to provide proper diversity combining.